Seward might have thought they were in a free throw contest rather than a basketball game against Butler County. The two teams combined for 108 free throw attempts, 79 of those after halftime, and the Saints made fewer of them in a 99-98 double overtime loss.

Four Saints and four Grizzlies fouled out of the game.

It was the missed free throws that came back to haunt the Saints in the early-season thriller between the two Jayhawk West opponents in a non-league match-up.

Seward missed 28 free throws and only shot 49 percent at the line while Butler outscored Seward at the line, 37-26 and shot 67 percent from the free throw line.

Seward took an early lead, but Butler erased the deficit, and the two teams headed to the halftime break tied 42-42.

Butler continued to push out to a lead, and midway through the second half had an eight-point advantage.

But the Saints worked their way back to take a five point lead with 36 seconds remaining in the game.

But two missed free throws followed by two Seward fouls allowed Butler to tie the game, 83-83 at the end of regulation.

Butler took a four-point lead in the first overtime, but the Saints scored six unanswered points to take an 89-87 lead with 23 seconds to play.

Butler was called for a technical foul, and Seward had a chance to put the game away. But the Saints missed both free throws.

Butler attempted to win the game with a three-point shot in the final 10 seconds, but the shot missed. Seward could not get the rebound, and Butler was able to get the put-back basket to tie the game and sned it to a second overtime.

Butler outscored the Saints 7-1 to start the second overtime, but the Saints came back in the final 1:48 to outscore the Grizzlies 8-3 after Kevin Smith hit a banked three-point shot, and the Saints trailed 99-98 with 14.3 seconds to play.

This time, it was Butler who struggled at the line and could not make either of the two free throws, and Seward had a chance for the win. But the Saints committed a costly turnover by passing directly to a Grizzly without firing a last-second shot, and Butler was able to hold on for the one-point win.

Seward had its best shooting night of the season at 46 percent including a 40 percent effort from the three-point line.

Kevin Smith had a career night for the Saints, scoring 27 points including seven three pointers. The seven long balls made Smith only the seventh player in school history to score seven in a game.

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The High Plains Daily Leader and Southwest Daily Times are published Sunday through Friday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and the Associated Press.

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